


Day 1 - Pining

by Ladycarathis



Series: Ereri Week 2015 [1]
Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Ereri Week, Future-AU, IN SPACE, Levi is a mechanic, M/M, Older!Eren, Pining Levi, and Eren a pilot, grease monkey Levi, younger!Levi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-01
Updated: 2015-06-01
Packaged: 2018-04-02 08:12:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,490
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4052899
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ladycarathis/pseuds/Ladycarathis
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Levi is the new head tech of humanities best and strongest titan, and he has a thing for its pilot.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Day 1 - Pining

 

The day Levi had arrived on the 'Maria', humanities largest and strongest battleship, he thought he could finally have some peace and just work on his machines with nobody bothering him. What he hadn’t known back then was that he'd be assigned to be a head technician for humanities best and most advanced titan, the 'Jaeger', without ever having had any knowledge of the job. Sure, he knew how to boss people around if he needed to and how to get pretty much any motor to work -life in the lower colonies barely taught you anything else- but head technician? Him? He wouldn't have dreamt of it.

And now he had his own team of mechanics he could shoo around as he liked. He hardly did, though. Usually he preferred to do everything by himself. At least then he knew everything would be done right. Eventually, everyone on his team got used to his behaviour and just let him do as he liked, even though he was younger than all of them. In fact, Levi was the youngest head technician on the entire ship with his only just eighteen years.

That didn't change the fact that some idiots never learned, though, so he had to deal with jealous pricks who envied him his position on an almost daily basis. They said that head technician was in no way a job suited for him, a lowlife bastard from the lower colonies. How had he managed to get here, anyway? Surely he must have blackmailed someone, right?

Now, usually Levi would just let them talk and ignore them, instead favouring to keep working on the titan, but at that day they just wouldn't leave him alone.

“Don't you lot have work to do?” he finally snapped at them when he was about to really lose his temper, ready to fling a tool at the one closest to him and not caring who it'd hit.

They sneered and were about to retort when a new voice spoke up. Levi was surprised. He'd heard it before, in the mess hall or on the corridors but never in his direct vicinity.

“Hey, Ladies! If you need to blow off some steam I suggest you either go to the trainings centre or you blow each other -whatever you prefer. But leave my mechanic out of it, got it? Now, shoo, or I'll tell your superiors that you were slacking off. I'm sure they won't be happy to hear that!”

The guys harassing Levi were gone from sight within seconds but not before they hadn't thrown a “This isn't over yet, colony-bastard!” at him.

Not that Levi cared. He frowned at the guy who had told them off. Of course he knew who it was, but he'd never actually talked to him before. Eren Jaeger, pilot of the titan named 'Jaeger' was the most popular guy on the entire battleship, except for commander Erwin maybe, and he was a few years older than Levi -as far as he'd heard-, however. He guessed the guy was somewhere in his mid-twenties, and _good god,_ he was a gorgeous thing to look at.

“I could have handled them, you know?” he said, weighing the tool in his one hand and brushing his hair out of his eyes with the other.

He didn't notice that that action smeared greasy stains all over his forehead.

“I'm sure you could. But then the hospital ward would've had a few new patients. You looked like you were going to throw that thing at them any second.” the pilot gestured to the tool in Levi's hand.

“I was.” Levi saw no point in trying to lie about his intentions.

“They were begging for it. Why did you have to shoo them away?” he almost whined.

“Less people in the hospital, more working on the titans. They need to be in top condition in case another attack comes in. Though I suppose I haven't seen you working on my baby before. Who _are_ you?”

Levi gave him a sarcastic smile.

“What? You really don't know I'm the head technician for your titan? What do you even do with all those files they give you to read?”

Eren looked honestly surprised.

“Head technician? You?” he shook his head, “I don't read them except when it's vital for a mission.”

That explained it, of course. Levi nodded.

“Yes, me. Now, did you need anything from me or can I keep working on your _baby_?” he frowned.

Eren looked a little like a deer in the headlights, but he caught himself quickly enough and shook his head.

“No, it's fine. You can keep working.” he said, but he didn't make a move to leave.

After a moment of just watching him, Levi decided to ignore the pilot’s presence and keep doing just what he'd asked for. In the following weeks, Levi had several encounters with the pilot, usually while he was working on the titan -where else would he be, anyway?- and he got used to Eren's silent company where he just sat and watched Levi work. Occasionally, he would even try to talk to him some more, but Levi hardly responded with anything else but grumbling sounds, so eventually Eren gave up, instead settling for just watching.

In the beginning, it gave Levi the creeps, actually, the feeling of your every move being watched closely. At some point, however, that feeling shifted. It changed to something more enjoyable. Something to look forward to, even. He still didn't really talk to the pilot, except for scolding him when he came back from a fight or mission in space, his titan all banged up and needing to be fixed up again. Didn't he know that Levi was the one who had to fix all the dents and scrapes and all the internal damage done? Did he do that on purpose, maybe? Just to annoy the mechanic?

Levi liked to think so. That at least would give him a reason to think of the pilot as just some annoying guy. However, it didn't matter how hard he tried, Levi couldn't think of Eren simply as someone annoying the shit out of him. Instead, he found himself thinking of bright green eyes, a body like a god's -that damn tight fitting gear really left _nothing_ to imagination-, a dazzling smile and sassy remarks. Not to mention that Eren always just seemed to be _there._ Levi found himself in Eren's presence more often than not lately, and he wondered how that came to be. He hadn't changed his schedules or went out of his way for anything, so either he had just never noticed the pilot's presence before, or that was a recent development.

Either way, Levi didn't plan to talk to the pilot about that, instead he just settled for doing everything just as he always did. Well, okay, forget that. Not _everything._ Since Eren had made it a habit to come and watch him work, Levi worked with more unnecessary movements, which caused him to sweat occasionally, and more grease and oil smeared all over his skin and overall. He had to admit this much at least to himself that he kind of was making his work a show for only the pilot's watchful eyes. Every so often he could feel those fascinating green eyes burn holes in his back when he made a particularly -not so- subtle show of his flexing muscles.

Yes, maybe he had a thing for the most popular pilot on the ship. Yes, he was in way too deep. Yes, he didn't even know if Eren actually swung that way. But going by the fact that Eren was never seen with anyone before, people -Levi included- had just concluded that he didn't have interest in anyone or maybe just didn't want anyone to know about his private life. The pilot did have enough people offering themselves, though he'd turned each and every one of them down until now.

That was also why Levi never planned on doing anything more than he was already doing. As long as he kept it as it was, it wasn't _real._ He _could_ deny he was interested in Eren in that way -not that he ever did. If he ever made an actual move on the guy, his attraction to him would become something _real._ Something that he could be hurt with. Something else that would make him a target to all those people that already didn't like him.

At some point, Levi and Eren somehow settled into something resembling a routine. Usually, Eren would come to watch him work every other day and Levi let him without ever telling him to bugger off, and in return Eren let himself be scolded by Levi every time he did something reckless on a mission or brought his precious titan back with new scratches and dents in the metal. Levi actually was quite comfortable with the way things were then. He didn't need to change anything, he told himself. As long as he had this, he would be happy. He didn't need to talk to the pilot to get to know him or spend time with him outside of what they were willingly sharing already.

However, his fate seemed to see things differently.

He had been head technician for quite some time now and he liked to think that he'd settled well into his life on the 'Maria', but just when he got comfortable, everything went to shit. Well no, not shit, exactly, but Levi thought it to be a terrible joke of fate that those mechanics that had been trying to get under his skin since the beginning actually had laid out an ambush for him.

He hadn't done anything wrong except for accepting the position as head tech when it was offered to him, and now he was being punished for that. Now, he was a pretty decent fighter in his colony-days, but even he couldn't stand his own against a group of fifteen tall and bulky guys packed with muscles. Regardless, Levi refused to let himself just be beaten to a pulp and put up one hell of a fight for those guys, actually breaking a few noses and kicking more than one guy in the shins or their jewels. In the end, however, they were too many and they eventually managed to pin him against a wall and pummel him with their fists and feet. By the time they were noticed, Levi could hardly stand anymore and was about to pass out. The last thing he heard was a familiar voice call “Hey, Ladies!” and then everything went black.

As he regained consciousness, he was lying on something soft and warm and far more comfortable than his hammock in the mechanic's quarters. He groaned and tried to sit up, only to feel a hand on his shoulder, holding him back.

“Easy there, Levi. Stay down. How are you feeling?” he heard someone ask him and blinked his eyes open, only to instantly zone in on a pair of big, worried looking green eyes. Eyes he had dreamt about seeing from this close before.

“Eren?” he rasped, trying to make sense of the situation he was in.

“Yes, it's me. Wait, I'll get you some water! Don't move!”

As if he could! Levi huffed, his eyes following Eren's figure as he move through the room. He wasn't in the hospital ward, that much he was sure of.

“Where am I?” he wanted to know, once he had downed the glass of water the pilot had brought him.

“In my quarters. I didn't want to bring you to the hospital ward. Not while those pigs are still in there. Though you should probably go see a nurse when you feel a little better.” Eren frowned while Levi's eyes widened just a fraction.

“Anyways, how are you feeling? Does anything hurt?” the pilot went back to his first question and Levi quickly did a check-over over his body.

His arms and legs seemed to be sore, but overall, were okay. His sides, however, hurt, as well as his entire ribcage. Those guys got him good, didn't they? Another frown appeared on his face.

“Where?” was all Eren asked then.

By now, he had become pretty good at reading the mechanic's face. Levi didn't have to say anything for Eren to understand him. It was weird, now that he thought about it. When did the guy learn to read him so well?

“Pretty much my whole torso.” he deadpanned and shrugged.

A few painkillers would bring him back to his feet in no time and he'd be working again in a few hours, he thought. Eren must've guessed his thoughts, because he shook his head.

“No Levi. You are staying in bed for at least another day and rest yourself. I'm not taking any chances.”

“I've been through worse.” Levi muttered, remembering his life in the colonies.

He didn't want to argue, though. Eren looked at him questioningly, but Levi didn't elaborate and the pilot didn't ask for more details.

“Well, you are going to stay in bed and rest until I tell you otherwise.”

“Tch. What are you, a nurse?”

“No. I'm your superior officer, so do as I say and rest.”

“I never said I wouldn't.” Levi huffed, slumping back under the soft covers.

“Good.” Eren nodded.

“To what do I owe this special treatment, though?”

“Oh? So you would've preferred to be left on the floor, beaten to a heap of unidentifiable flesh and bones?”

“Of course not! I'm just wondering.”

Eren chuckled.

“Well, take a guess.”

Levi looked at Eren like he'd gone mental. Why wouldn't he just tell?

“I have no idea. Can't you just tell me?”

“No can do, Levi. So?” Eren settled into a comfortable position on the edge of the bed, looking at Levi expectantly.

Levi frowned again. He really had not the slightest idea. He shook his head.

“I don't know.”

“Oh come on. It's not like you to give up without a fight.”

“Well, I'm tired right now and I’m fuckin' hurt, so cut me some slack, will you?”

Eren chuckled again and Levi noticed that he liked the sound. He smiled and let Eren grab some painkillers for him, which he then swallowed immediately.

“Maybe, I'll guess tomorrow. For now, let me sleep, Eren.”

“Of course, Levi. I'll be here if you need me.”

In the time it took for Levi to fall asleep, he thought of bright green eyes, a kind smile and warm embraces, all the while a faint smile adorned his features. He could figure out what Eren meant tomorrow, or maybe the day after. For now, there was no hurry and Levi was content with the way things were. He was happy knowing Eren cared for him -anything else that might be there, he could figure out later.

 

**Author's Note:**

> Well, not my best entry, that's for sure, but there's more to come tomorrow. I plan on posting something for every prompt and I know that my other stories are all going to be better than this. Honestly, this one was the one that bothered me the most. I can't do pining for shit, it seems, so please bear with it^^  
> Also, thank you, [MrsLittsy](http://mrslittsy.tumblr.com/) for being such a wonderful beta and putting up with me fo the last week and a half! You are awesome! x3  
> If you want to share this work, I will make a post on [my tumblr](http://ladycarathis.tumblr.com/) in a little while, so you can reblog from there :D  
> Also, I might be coming back to this after Ereriweek is over and work out alle the stuff that's left unsaid for now. It might even get a second chapter, to resolve things :)


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